tioned, but also the scattered stones of the house of God throughout Germany will be collected anew from the rubbish and ashes, and the glorious temple of our Lord restored; while in those Churches the professors of a purer faith, returning by repentance unto Him who has chastised them, and united unto the Lord with us in a covenant not to wax old in the circle of ages, will, at length, be relieved from the calamities, under the pressure of which they have groaned so many years. If this day, so much desired and longed for, shall ever dawn in the grace of God, measures may be concerted, through means of letters and commissions, for establishing a common cause and enterprise among the Reformed Churches, whereby their enemies may be restrained, and heresies crushed, schisms may be repaired, and peace with God and among the Churches maintained unbroken, and God's glorious work promoted of spreading the Gospel through the world, and abolishing the reign of Antichrist. This object, so much to be desired and hoped for, we commit, as good seed in a fertile soil, to your pious and prudent meditations. THE OLIVE. BY THE REV. DAVID MITCHELL. MANY varieties of the olive have been described by naturalists. Tournefort mentions eighteen, but the great distinction lies between the wild and the cultivated; the former is commonly neglected, dwarfish, and useless; the latter highly esteemed, eagerly cultivated, and valuable. The disparity betwixt the fruit of the two is perhaps as great as the difference between the sour crab and the choice apple, or the sloe on the thorn and the luxuriant plum by the garden-wall. The olive is an evergreen, and rarely exceeds thirty feet in height; "its trunk is knotty, its bark is smooth and of an ash colour; its wood is solid and yellowish, its leaves are oblong, of a dark green colour" above and whitish beneath. In the month of June it puts forth its blossoms, which are small, white, delicate, and beautiful. Slenderly attached to the tree, they fall off in showers by the gentle breeze. "The wicked man shall shake his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive." Job xv. 33. The fruit which succeeds the blossom is of an oval form, first green in colour, then pale, and ultimately black. This tree seems to have been originally found in Asia, and thence to have been transplanted into the southern dominions of Europe, where it has been highly productive for many centuries. It is cultivated with great advantage in several islands of the Mediterranean Sea, and is viewed as an important source of wealth. In the newly-formed kingdom of Greece it flourishes, and contributes not a little to the riches of the infant state. It grows readily in our own land, especially in the south of Britain, where it brings forth fruit by the wall when protected during frost. The olive, in former times, constituted a very considerable proportion of the wealth of Canaan. When the Hebrews were on their journey to the expected inheritance, God promised them "a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil-olive, and honey.' Olive trees still abound in countries of the East, especially in Syria and Palestine. They spring up with their original freshness in the valleys of the Holy Land. They form groves around Ashdod, and skirt the path that leads from thence to Gaza. They crest the barren mountains of Judea, where no other object of vegetation attracts the eye. They shoot forth by Lebanon, they enrich the land of ancient Nephthalim, and they shade the brow of Olivet. The traveller may take his station on this mount of renown, look west over Kidron, and see Jerusalem denuded of her glory, sitting like a dejected widow in the midst of the nations, with a few scattered habitations partially covering her wonted site. The palaces of the kings no longer bestud Zion. On Moriah the golden turrets of the temple have ceased to shine; they are no more the boast of the Jew, nor the admiration of the Gentile. Zion has yielded to the ploughshare; the high places of Jacob have been trodden down; and the votaries of superstition have erected a shrine to the false prophet on the very spot over which the pillar of cloud rested. But the olives continue to mantle the sides of the opposite hill; there they spring forth as a spontaneous production. At the bottom of the mount, where Jesus sorrowed, they spread out their verdant shades. In the gardens of Gethsemane they extend their branches; their leaves quiver in the breeze over the place where the Saviour trembled. Dr Clarke records, "as a curious and interesting fact, that during a period of little more than two thousand years, Hebrews, Assyrians, Romans, Moslems, and Christians, have been successively in possession of the rocky mountains of Palestine; yet the olive vindicates its paternal soil, and is found at this day upon the same spot which was called by the Hebrew writers Mount Olivet and the Mount of Olives eleven centuries before the Christian era. These trees do not grow up in the same spontaneous manner in the south of Europe and in Africa as they do in Asia; they require great attention and diligent cultivation. It appears that Mehemet Ali, the viceroy of Egypt, with all his zeal to increase the resources of his dominions, has failed in a great measure to rear the olive. Some years ago his son, Ibrahim Pacha, distributed many thousands of olive plants gratuitously to the people, but owing to the indolent and sluggish habits of the Egyptians, scarcely one has survived. They are frequently propagated by truncheons, that is, by cutting the trunk of the tree, or some of the most substantial branches, into short pieces, and placing them in the ground, where they soon form separate roots, and send forth goodly stems. They are also multiplied by grafts. Paul makes an allusion to this method of propagation in his Epistle to the Romans. When speaking of the necessity of humble confidence, and the sin of vain high-mindedness, he compares the workmanship of God in his visible Church to the proceedings of the keeper of an olive plantation; declaring that the Gentiles had no right to triumph over the Jews, and no reason to glory in themselves; that they were the produce of the wild olive, incapable of bearing fruit, vile, and worthless; that if God had taken the branches of the degenerate tree, the idolatrous heathen, and ingrafted them by faith upon the good stem, whereby they might partake of the sap and bring forth abundantly, an action opposed to the common constitution of things, how much more might we not expect that the Jews, who were rejected through unbelief, should again be united to their living head by a lively faith. "For if thou wert cut out of the olive-tree, which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive-tree; how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olivetree?" Rom. xi. 24. trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm-trees. So also he made for the door posts of olive-tree, a fourth part of the wall." 1 Kings vi. 31-33. This tree was formerly contemplated in Palestine as an emblem of prosperity and excellence. To people accustomed, as we are, to behold the rising shoots of the plain rapidly extending their verdant shade, and the lofty trees of the forest widely outstretching their branches, clothed with gorgeous foliage, the olive possesses little to excite the idea of grandeur; but to the eye of an oriental it becomes an apt similitude of beauty and other delights. When the prophet Hosea foretells the return of the Israelites unto the Lord, and their productiveness on the day of their renewal, he compares them to the flourishing olive extending its boughs. Then the effects of divine love would bud and bring forth; then the graces of the Spirit would make Jacob appear as a tree pleasant to the sight, and producing fruit abundantly; then he would grow up as the green olive, delighting the eye with his comeliness, and shedding a salutary influence around: "His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon." Hosea xiv. 6. From the period at which the dove returned to Noah into the ark with an olive leaf in its mouth, as a token that God had been again pleased to smile upon the earth, the olive branch has been used by many nations as a symbol of peace and reconciliation. The tender boughs have been viewed as sacred by numerous tribes, and used only for particular purposes. They were highly valued by the ancient Greeks, and on memorable occasions were selected for ornament. They were brought forward in great profusion at the nuptial feast, and the various apartments of the dwelling of the bridegroom were dorned with them on the marriage-day. They formed wreaths to crown the successful competitors at the Olympic games; and the modern Grecians, anxious to emulate the feats of former times, have instituted similar pastimes, while the fortunate rivals are proud to receive the verdant chaplet from the hands of the amiable Otho, their youthful king. At an early period the fruit of the olive was manufactured into oil by pounding it in a mortar; "And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil-olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always." Exod. xxvii. 20. From the writings of the Prophet Micah, it appears that oil was also prepared by treading on the olive with the feet, as men laboured in the wine-press; "Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil." Micah vi. 15. Means of a more efficient kind are now employed for this purpose. Chandler mentions that mills are erected in the vicinity of Athens, for extracting the juice from the product of the olive. The fruit is collected and thrown into store-houses in large quantities, in order to be bruised by a mill, which is sometimes nothing more than a large stone supported upon edge, with a long pole for an axle, which is moved round by a horse, making the stone describe a circle. A person is employed at the same time to place a quantity of fruit in this tract; after a few rounds some boiling water is poured in, and the movement is then continued until the fruit be formed into a kind of paste, which is put into a jar, carried to the olive press, wrought into a thinner consistency, bound up in regular portions in coarse pieces of cloth, and piled in the press, which is no sooner put in operation than the water and oil run down the piles of cloth into a vessel below; the latter being lighter than the former the oil floats upon the top, and is separated from the water by a very simple proThe oil is put into a large jar beside the press and there allowed to filter for a short time, then poured cess. into leathern bags with the hair inside, which are carried away to the dwelling of the owner, and emptied into large earthen jars, placed in the ground to the neck, where the oil remains until all the impurities be deposited. The wealth of several islands in the Mediterranean depends, in a great measure, upon the prosperity of the olive. The produce of the small island of Corfu in 1835, amounted to nearly an hundred thousand barrels of oil, and was valued at about two millions of dollars. The success of the olive crop materially affected the temporal condition of the Hebrews, so that a failure was reckoned a trying calamity. The Prophet Habakkuk, in pourtraying his resignation to the will of God, under the most perplexing vicissitudes, and under bereaving dispensations, places the blighting of the olive amongst the severest privations to which a man could be exposed; Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Hab. iii. 17, 18. Oil is much esteemed in the Levant and in Greece as an ingredient of cookery, entering almost into every dish. To the Hebrews we read of it being equally precious, greatly valued for its nutritive qualities, and highly prized for ornament. The Jew used it for his daily food, and also for the ornamenting of his body, "wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine." This commodity is often coupled with wine in Scripture, and on every occasion introduced as a fit concomitant to it; and it is remarkable that while we continue to entertain a fond partiality for the one, as a strengthening cordial, we cherish a strong prejudice against the use of the other at table. The fruit of the vine is reckoned the most delicious repast that nature can afford, whereas the juice of the olive is rejected as nauseous and loathsome. Perhaps this may arise, in some degree, from viewing it rather as the fat of an animal than a vegetable production. Competent judges assert that olive oil may be used with benefit to the constitution, especially along with vegetables, in preference to artificial sauces which are delicious to the taste but pernicious to health. There was a costly perfume prepared for anointing the sacred orders of the priesthood under the ceremonial law, which was composed partly of the juice of the olive. This precious compound was made up of myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, cassia, and olive oil. Maimonides declares that" each of these four spices was pounded separately; then they were all mixed together, and a strong decoction of them made with water, which being strained from the ingredients, was boiled up with oil till the water was all evaporated." This ointment was used for sacred purposes and holy ends, for anointing the body as a sign of the adornment of the Spirit. The outward act of consecration was emblematical of the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the believer, filling the heart with joy, clothing the soul with the garments of light, and causing men to dwell together in the bonds of love. This is like the precious ointment on the head, that runs down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments." The consecration of the priests and those in authority, by this precious perfume, was also typical of the sacred anointing of the Lord Jesus, when the Holy Ghost descended upon him above measure to prepare bim for his mediatorial work. "Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness; therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad." Ps. xlv. 7, 8. And again, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." Isaiah lxi. 1. The same anointing is promised in kind, though not in degree, to every child of God. The transforming power of the Spirit regenerates every believing soul, and cleanses every vessel selected for glory. Along with purification there cometh excellence, the inward man is enriched, clothed, and beautified. The spiritual part becomes so elevated and transcendant that the body is powerfully affected. The calm subdued features of the man who was once fierce, ungovernable, and untractable, evince the power of religion that reigns within. This change becomes more marked in the season of distress and on the day of approaching dissolution. Visit the bed of the dying Christian, who is strong in faith, and you will discern a mild serenity shedding a lustre over his countenance. Meekness is beaming in his eye, and tranquillity resting on his brow. There is something heavenly and benign in his aspect,-there is something solemnly grand in his deportment. Examples are not wanting where a ray of supernatural grandeur has been added to the dignity of the departing saint. When holy Stephen was placed before the Jewish rulers "All that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him. saw his face as if it had been the face of an angel." But these things are now seen only in part, the completion of the holy anointing will not take place before the general resurrection from the dead, on the morning of the great day. The same Spirit which at first "garnished the heavens" will then bring forth the soul in the perfection of beauty, and the body as a fit temple for it to inhabit. The soul beaming with love to Jesus shall have no weakness of the flesh to detract from its delights, no evil propensity to resist, no lust to combat, nor any seduction to ensnare. On earth the power of remaining sin may cloud the brightest prospects, pain may harass the body, temptation distract the mind, and unbelief bedim the joy; but on the eventful day when soul and body shall be reunited, the spirit will embrace a companion perfect and spotless. The soul will then enjoy the utmost extent of the sacred prediction, and reap "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." CHRISTIAN TREASURY. ing which we enjoy, and of all the good of which we are rendered susceptible? If we are kept from falling into the apostasy of the infidel-into the flagrant crimes of the hardened transgressor-into the defections of the worldly-minded-into the carelessness of the lukewarm; if instead of falling into these, we are persevering by any progressive measures in the opposite excellencies of faith, purity, spiritual-mindedness, and godly zeal, shall we not attribute the praise of the whole unto Him without whom we had been nothing and can do nothing? Unto Him be the glory now; unto Him be it ascribed for ever. Yes, for ever. When the periods of time shall no longer be revolving as the periods of our being; when our existence shall no longer have its seasons marked by the revolution of sun, moon, and stars; when the soul, which in its present frail dwelling is moved by the changes of a fluctuating world, shall have survived unhurt amidst the destruction of the material creation itself, and during countless ages, numbered by the vast cycles of the celestial state, shall have continued faultless before the presence of the divine glory, joying with exceeding joy,-still, even then, no continuance in purity, nor stability in blessedness shall occasion a moment's forgetfulness of Him who gives all, and upholds the possession of all. The song of gratitude shall still be the same. For ever shall it express the language of humility-all honour be disclaimed by the devout worshipper-the crown be laid low at the throne of mercy, and the glory of being preserved faultless through eternity, be given unto the only wise God, our Saviour.-MUIR. (Discourses on Jude.) the progenitor of the human race dwell in the happy A Contrast of the First and the Second Adam.-Did plains of paradise? We behold the second Adam in the desolate wilderness. Did the first man, who was of the earth, earthy, (1 Cor. xiii. 47,) live amidst lovely trees and delicious fruits in the garden of Eden? The second man, who is the Lord from heaven, must endure hunger in a wilderness, amid stones and rank weeds, where not His nature. Did our forefather enjoy the most delightan ear of corn grew to relieve the extreme necessity of ful communion with God and the holy angels, and the society of his spotless wife? Jesus, on the contrary, was banished into the most gloomy desert; he was with the wild beasts, as St. Mark informs us, and with the old serpent, with Satan and his angels. O, how great the contrast! But thus it was ordained of God.-KRUMMACHER. (Christ in the Wilderness. ) The Praise of Christian Perseverance to be ascribed Pray for unconverted Relatives.—And you who have alone unto God, our Saviour.-Are we now kept from among your friends, or perhaps in your families, some falling? Are we hereafter to be presented faultless? Lazarus, some being dear to your hearts by the bonds Unto Him who alone is able; unto Him who only is of nature or of friendship, who is still ignorant of the wise, belongs the praise of our present steadfastness, Saviour, and has not called upon the only name by and shall belong the praise of our after perfection! which we must be saved; oh! pray, supplicate the unto God our Saviour be ascribed the glory, and we divine Redeemer to touch the heart of that beloved shall bring to His throne the tributes of reverence and being, to snatch him from inevitable ruin, as a brand gratitude; unto Him be ascribed the majesty, and our plucked out of the burning; to save him in spite of expressions of gratitude we shall mingle with acknow- himself, while pardon, salvation, and reconciliation are ledgments of awe for the unspeakable grandeur and possible. My God! my God! is there among those dignity of his character; unto Him be ascribed the who hear thy Word, who see thy love and thy comdominion, and we shall bow ourselves down in the passion; is there among those whom I know, whom I dust before the authority, underived and unlimited, by love upon earth, any one who, in the great day, shall which all things, whether in the natural or in the become a monument of thine eternal justice, instead of moral world, in time or eternity, are ordered and dis- being a monument of thy grace and of thine eternal love! posed; unto him be ascribed the power, and we shall Divine Saviour! if thou hast ever heard a prayer, if thou ever supremely fear that almighty arm which maintains hast ever allowed thyself to be moved by an earnest supthe authority that is underived and unlimited. Say, plication, or by the cry of a soul in distress, take away, what it is we can accomplish that we owe not to this take away from my heart the overwhelming weight of power, what we can possess, which shall not belong to this agonizing fear! Oh, I must hope, I must hope, or that dominion? And is there aught so wondrous as -ah! pardon Lord! Thou willest not the death of a the condescension of divine majesty in stooping to re- sinner; Thou willest rather that he should be congard us? Shall we not therefore offer unto God the verted and live; and all things are possible unto thee! glory of all that we now are, the praise of every bless-A. BONNET. (The Family of Bethany.) SACRED POETRY. THE MARTYR'S HYMN. HOLY Jesus! King of Glory! That I suffer for thy name. With the chariots of the sky. Realms of everlasting love. Farewell, Earth, with all its treasures, Scenes of transport, love, and joy; Tastes of bliss till now unknown; WILLIAM JOHNSTONE. MISCELLANEOUS. without a mother's care, a mother's love,-without, perhaps, one to guide him in the right way, to lead him to Jesus, to pray that he might be made one of his lambs, which it is declared the Lord shall carry in his bosom! The day of her trial came, and on it she witnessed a good confession. But during the trial, poor Vivia suffered more, far more, from the well-meant, but mistaken, kindness of her friends, than from the cruelty of her enemies: her father could not yet resign the hope of saving his darling daughter; he thought to move her fond heart by a sight of her helpless child, and so taking his little grandson in his arms, he went into the court, presented him to Vivia, and implored her to save her child. The Roman governor joined in the request; but when Vivia had firmness enough to resist the silent language of her dear little child, you may suppose all their arguments could have no effect. She remained stedfast in her profession of Christianity; and her poor distracted father, seeing his last hope had failed, seized his daughter, and vainly endeavoured to draw her away with him. The magistrate, offended at this, ordered him to be struck with a staff; and I dare say the blow she saw given to her fond old parent was as much felt by poor Vivia as any of the cruelties shown towards herself. The day arrived on which they were to be exposed to the cruel gaze of the people. Vivia walked calmly on, holding down her eyes, but quite undismayed by the thought of what she was to undergo. After being scourged, the martyrs were exposed to a wild bull; even the cruel multitude was shocked at seeing a lovely and delicate female thus barbarously used: but the faith of the sufferers did not fail; they sang praises to Him who had counted them worthy to suffer for his name; and Vivia calling her brother, said to him and another youth, "Continue firm in the faith, love one another, and be neither frightened nor offended at our sufferings;" and after saying this, she was murdered by the gladiator, who was one of those people employed by the Romans to put each other to death at the public games for their amusement.-The Burning Bush, At Vivia Perpetua, the Carthaginian Martyr.-Vivia Perpetua was a lady only twenty-two years of age. She was married, and had a little child. I believe her mother was a Christian woman, but her father was a Pagan, that is, a worshipper of false gods. Vivia was a person of quality, and exceedingly beloved by her father. She was a Christian, as was also her brother. In the time of persecution, Vivia was seized, along with four other Christians of Carthage. They were kept under guard for some time, but not thrown into prison at first. While thus confined, her father came to her, and not knowing the faith that actuated her conduct, he advised her to forsake the Christian religion, and again return to peace and safety. When he found she was not so easily persuaded to do so, he began to represent all the dangers and sufferings she would be exposed to, if she persisted in maintaining her faith; and finding this too would not succeed, he thought entreaties might: but seeing her still unmoved by all his affectionate persuasions, he became very angry. This treatment from a father she loved, was, of course, worse to poor Vivia than all the malice and threats of her persecutors; but the love of Christ was her consolation, and that supported her under every trial, and His peace enabled her to stand fast in the faith. After her father had left her, Vivia, with her four companions. was baptized; for, though Christians, they had not as yet attended to that ordinance. After they had secretly contrived to receive this visible sign of admittance into the Church of Christ, they were put into a dark prison, where they were left in extreme outward misery, without one of the comforts of life. But still poor Vivia felt the trials of her situation more keenly than her companions did, who were less accustomed to ease and delicacy. She had, besides, a darling child; and, Oh! how her heart must have bled when she thought of leaving her dear little one in this cold world-alone-Is. 6d., and the other periods in proportion. The Jewish Laver.-Between the altar and the tabernacle was placed a laver, or large basin, with an ornamented stand or foot, in which the priests washed their hands and feet, when about to perform their duties. It was made of brass, of the looking-glasses of the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle, Exod. xxxviii. 8. This description has puzzled many modern readers; but it means that the laver was formed of the brazen mirrors used by the women. that time glass was not in use, and it would not be suitable for making such a large basin. And we know from history, that in ancient times the women had small plates, or flat pieces of metal very highly polished, which showed the face nearly as well as our present looking-glasses. These they usually carried about with them. The Greek version adds, that the women here mentioned, were fasting at the doors of the tabernacle on the day when it was first set up. CONTENTS.-Things Secret and Things Revealed. Part III. By Rev. W. Macphail.-The Autobiography of Mr J. Livingston, formerly Minister at Ancrum.-Hebrew Gleanings. No. V. By Rev. R. Simpson, A. M.-Diluvian Antiquities. No. III. By late Rev. J. Kidd, D.D.-A Discourse. By Rev. W. S. MoncrieffA Letter Addressed to the Dutch Church, by the General Assembly of Scotland, in June 1644.-The Olive. By Rev. D. Mitchell.Christian Treasury. Extracts from Muir, Krummacher, and Bonnet. Sacred Poetry. "The Martyr's Hymn." W. Johnstone.Miscellaneous. Published by Jon JonNSTONE, 2, Hunter Square, Edinburgh; J. R. MACNAIR, & Co., 19, Glassford Street, Glasgow; JAMES NISHET & Co., HAMILTON, ADAMS, & Co., and R. GROOMBRIDGE, London; W. CURRY, Junr. & Co., Dublin; and W. M'COME, Belfast, and sold by the Booksellers and Local Agents in all the Towns and Parishes of Scotland; and in the principal Towns in England and Ireland. Subscribers in Town will have their copies delivered at their own residences regularly, by leaving their addresses with the Publisher. Subscription (payable in advance) per quarter, of twelve weeks, THOUGHTS SUGGESTED BY THE BY THE REV. ROBERT JAMIESON, PRICE 1 by the beauty and chivalry of her native landher temples encircled with the here litary crown of her fathers-her hands wielding the sceptre of the mightiest people in the world-herself the centre of the sympathies of a thousand hearts, and greeted, as she stands arrayed in the sparkling ensigns of royalty, with the acclamations of overflowing loyalty that will burst from the unnumbered spectators of the imposing scene. Happier than many of her contemporaries, in having no ambitious kinsman to contend with, and no cabal of intriguing desperadoes to conciliate or to punish, she will mount the throne of her ancestors without a rival to contest, or an equal to divide with her the admiration and homage of her country. In the generous confidence, that her future reign will be conducted on sound and constitutional Christian principles, all ranks of her subjects are ready to bow to her the knee of loyal submission, and to anticipate that she will hold the reins of administration with a wise and vigorous hand; and although, to the personal character of a British monarch, far less importance evidently attaches than in countries where the will of a despot has the place and authority of law, yet, as in all circumstances, the wisdom or the folly, the enlightened sagacity or the wayward caprice of a ruler, must have a mighty influence, for good or for evil, on the destinies of a nation, it is impossible to doubt, that the moment of solemn compact between sovereign and people will be consecrated by the fervent prayers of all genuine lovers of their country, that He who ruleth in the assemblies of the mighty, and guideth the counsels of the wise, may bless her government and make it a blessing to the thousands that own her constitutional sway. THE accession of a new sovereign to the throne of a kingdom-an event in all circumstances interesting to the inhabitants of a country, becomes invested with an unwonted degree of attraction, when, besides inheriting the blood of a race of native princes, that sovereign appears in the person of an amiable, accomplished, and virtuous youth. Much of this lively interest is, no doubt, owing to imagination, which loves to dwell on the idea of an individual placed, at the very dawn of life, on the proudest pinnacle of human greatness, where he is supposed to be far removed beyond the reach of the anxieties and toils that agitate the minds of ordinary mortals, and to move at will amid scenes of enchantment, where all that is flattering to the pride, and fascinating to the senses, is open to the capricious wishes of the child of luxury. But into the creation of an interest so strong and so general, there enters also the grave, but not less powerful consideration, that this young individual is born not for himself alone, but for the people over whom he is to reign; that, while others are doomed to pass through the vale of obscurity, he is to read his history in a nation's eyes, and exercise by his tastes, his companions, and his councils, an influence in society which will be felt in the hearts and the homes of millions yet unborn; and hence, the commencement of a new reign has ever been a season of extraordinary interest to every bosom that has beat with a generous love to its country. One important means through which the governAt the present moment, the people of Britain ment of our youthful queen will be made a blessing are in daily expectation of such an event-the to her empire, is the studious cultivation of the formal ascent to the throne of a new sove- arts of peace. Long has a kind Providence prereign, the representative of a long line of illustri-served our shores from the scenes of battle, or any ous princes, and belonging to that sex, whose of the terrible calamities that follow in the train gentler nature is not often tried on the troubled arena of public life. In the magnificent halls of her ancestors, VICTORIA will pass through the splendid and solemn ceremony of coronation; and, imagination cannot fancy a more interesting spectacle, than that of our youthful queen, surrounded VOL. III. of war; and ever since that long and momentous struggle in which Britain engaged to check the career of an ambitious tyrant, great as she was before, she has been rising to still superior greatness in the scale of nations. Industry has been promoted, manufactures have flourished, science |